Ohio's Republican secretary of state said he's enforcing the law, not playing politics, on whether President Joe Biden will be on the state's ballot in the November general election.
Ohio requires political parties to confirm their presidential candidates 90 days before the general election, which would be Aug. 7. Biden won't be the official nominee until the Democratic National Convention, which is Aug. 19-22.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine last week called a special session of the General Assembly to pass legislation ensuring Biden is on the state's 2024 ballot. The special session will begin Tuesday, News 5 Cleveland reported.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, in an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal, blamed Democrats.
"I believe it's in voters' best interest to have a choice in the race for president, from Donald Trump in Colorado to Joe Biden in Ohio. But I'm also duty-bound to follow Ohio election law," LaRose wrote in his Monday column.
"For now, the law requires me to uphold a deadline the Democratic Party appears willing to miss. If as a result the Democratic candidates for U.S. president and vice president aren't on the statewide ballot, that's the party's choice, not mine."
Democrats threatened to sue LaRose and the state for Biden's exclusion from the ballot.
"Today's threat to democracy is apparently me," LaRose wrote. "As Ohio's chief elections officer, I refuse to bend the rules to benefit a candidate. Critics allege that my decision to uphold the law will deprive Ohio voters of the opportunity to choose their president. Never mind that I didn't create this problem, nor do I wish for that outcome."
LaRose blames Democrats for two reasons: the Democratic National Committee decided to hold its convention after Ohio's statutory ballot access deadline, and the state's deadline law was passed 15 years ago when Democrats held the majority in the state House.
"Unable so far to get a legislative fix to the problem they created, Democrats have flipped the script," LaRose wrote. "They used to say refusing to enforce election rules was a threat to democracy; now refusing to bend the rules is a threat."
LaRose wrote that "the Democratic Party's antics after its failure to get Joe Biden on the ballot in Ohio are both entertaining and hypocritical."
"Since 2020 the political left has decried perceived attempts to manipulate laws governing elections as threats to democracy," LaRose wrote. "If you dared to question the electoral process — or worse, hired a lawyer to challenge it — you'd be politically persecuted as a traitor. You might even flip through talking heads on news channels declaring you constitutionally ineligible to appear on a ballot ever again.
"But that was yesterday's script, when the frenzy over election manipulation was the left's favorite cause."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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